When Chorong arrives at Lake Orion, there’s already a tension in the air. She drops off her bags and finds Eunji exactly where she knows she will be.

Eunji is splayed out at the end of dock with her legs dangling over the edge and her shirt carelessly discarded beside her, leaving her in nothing more than a pair of denim shorts and a sports bra. She has one arm protecting her eyes from the sun and the other casually lays across her stomach.

Sitting not far from her is Namjoo, legs crossed as she absently scrolls on her phone. The moment Chorong steps on to the dock, Namjoo looks up and greets her with a bright smile and a wave.

On the other hand, Eunji doesn’t move an inch and waits until Chorong is close to say, “Well, it looks like our princess has finally arrived.” When Chorong scowls and kicks her shoulder lightly, Eunji removes her arm and opens her eyes. She blinks a few times before her lips break into a grin. “Hi, Chorong,” Eunji says, voice already full of mischief.

“You’re late,” Namjoo remarks curiously, her phone now abandoned in her lap. “You’re usually the first one here.”

“Of course,” Eunji says, “the princess has to make sure she gets exactly what she wants.” She quirks an eyebrow and can’t quite contain her smirk as she says, “Isn’t that right?”

“My father had a meeting this morning,” Chorong explains impatiently. She nudges Eunji again and watches the other girl sit up with a slight glare and tug her shirt back on. “There were things he needed to get done before coming here.”

“Ah, so your tardiness has nothing to do with Yoon Bomi?”

Chorong takes a deep breath and tries to tell herself that she won’t hit Eunji. It takes several seconds, but she eventually calms down enough to say, “No, like I said, my father had business to attend to.”

“But she is coming?” Namjoo asks, not sounding quite as bitter as Eunji but just as wary.

Chorong glances around and nods her head over to her house on the far end of the lake, saying, “Let’s go talk about this somewhere else.”

The unpleasantness in the air is Chorong’s fault, she supposes. There’s really no denying it when she’s the one who invited outsiders to Lake Orion. It had been a spur of the moment decision, and one that Chorong only partially regrets now.

Not that Chorong will ever tell Eunji, but it really is because of Yoon Bomi that she’s in this current predicament.

It was a little over a week ago that Chorong had been talking to Bomi about their summer plans.

“I’ll probably just stay home,” Bomi told Chorong with a complacent smile and shrug of the shoulders. “My parents are so busy working, but they won’t let me get a summer job. Maybe I’ll see if there are any neighborhood chores I can get paid to do.”

Bomi wanted a summer job because she’s a scholarship student. She doesn’t have the luxury that Chorong and almost every other student at Plan A Academy has, growing up wealthy without a financial care in the world. Bomi is by no means poor, but her middle class status still puts her far below everyone else.

That was the first thing that caught Chorong’s eye about Bomi. After that, it rapidly became one thing after another that made Chorong want to spend time around Bomi, from her giggly smile to her sweet naïveté.

It’s because of this infatuation that Chorong offered rather thoughtlessly, “You should come visit the lake.”

“The lake?” Bomi repeated curiously.

It was too late to take it back, so Chorong nodded and elaborated, “Lake Orion. It’s about a two hour drive from here, and a lot of the families who attend Plan A Academy also vacation there.”

“It must cost a fortune then,” Bomi said knowingly.

“Well, a house on the lake’s edge is certainly an expense,” Chorong agreed with a nervous smile. “Would you like to come with me?”

“To your fancy lake house?” Bomi teased, and Chorong can’t stop the little flutter in her chest. But then, Bomi’s smile faded a little and she said, “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You wouldn’t be a bother at all!” Chorong denied immediately. She questioned herself on whether it was strange to invite Bomi at all because they were friends, but they weren’t particularly close. Steeling her nerves, Chorong suggested tentatively, “You could bring two friends? I usually have Eunji and Namjoo with me during the summers. It’ll be fun, you know? The more the merrier.” Chorong clamped her lips shut, pressing them into a thin line. She rambled when she was nervous, and Bomi made her nervous.

Bomi regarded her thoughtfully for a long moment then said, “I’ll ask my parents about it.”

It was two days later when Bomi excitedly told Chorong that her parents agreed to let her go as a well-deserved vacation from all of her hard work in school, and it was four days later that Chorong broke the news to Eunji and Namjoo that they were going to have visitors.

Now, at Lake Orion, Chorong’s rash decision is glaring, but she refuses to do anything but keep her head held high as she lets herself into her lake house. She doesn’t bother offering a tour because there’s no point when Eunji and Namjoo have been here multiple times in the many summers before now.

The three of them wander into a room tucked away in the corner of the house that holds all of Chorong’s recreational things. There’s an easel in one corner, work-out equipment in another, and a dusty piano pushed up against the wall under a window. The three of them fall into their places easily; Chorong goes to her easel and picks up a paintbrush immediately, Eunji plops down on the piano bench with a bored expression, and Namjoo hesitantly takes a seat on the ground by Eunji.

They don’t say anything for a long moment, and Chorong foolishly thinks Eunji will drop the subject. The silence lasts for a while with the only sound being Chorong fumbling with her art supplies.  

It’s almost ten minutes later when Eunji looks up from where she’s fiddling with an unlit cigarette and says, “I get you have a crush on her or whatever, but do you really think it’s smart to be inviting her here?”

“I can do whatever I want,” Chorong reminds her sharply.

“I never said you couldn’t,” Eunji replies, unfazed by the tone, even as she rests a comforting hand on Namjoo’s shoulder. She smiles, but it’s almost feral as she says, “I asked if you thought it was smart, not if you could.” Her eyes wander to the window where the scenery stretches out like a picturesque postcard. “Bad things tend to happen at Lake Orion.” Eunji snaps her gaze back to Chorong as she adds in a low voice, “You of all people should know that.”

When Chorong slams her paintbrush down, Namjoo flinches away while Eunji remains calm and still.

“It won’t be like last summer,” Chorong snaps, but it sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more than Eunji. She shakes her head and repeats, “It won’t be.”

Eunji regards her coolly and shrugs, “Okay, whatever you say, princess.” The tension never really leaves the air, but it lessens when Eunji smiles brightly and says, “I’m going to go for a swim. Namjoo, want to come with?”

“Yeah,” Namjoo answers simply. She’s been much quieter since last summer, only being loud at school because it would be strange if she isn’t. She stands up and looks to Chorong. She hesitates then asks, “Do you want to come with?”

Chorong doesn’t answer at first. Her gaze goes from Namjoo, looking so young all of the sudden, to Eunji, looking every bit as bright yet dangerous as she always has. They are her two closest friends.

“Sure,” Chorong nods. “Let me go change.”

Namjoo leaves, saying she needs to go change too, but Eunji lingers. She leisurely makes her way over to Chorong, until she’s comfortably pressed up against her back. Chorong holds her breath as Eunji presses a kiss to her neck, hands teasing at her sides.

“I guess none of this while Bomi is here?” Eunji whispers in her ear, amusement clear in her voice.

When Chorong says nothing, Eunji chuckles and kisses along Chorong’s jaw until Chorong tilts her head to meet her lips. The kiss is anything but chaste, and by the time Eunji pulls away, Chorong is flushed and wanting more. Except, it finally processes what Eunji said before, and Chorong pushes her away with a glare.

“I’ll take that as a no then,” Eunji laughs. She steps close to steal one more kiss, saying, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Bomi about us. I’ll let you keep all your little secrets from her.” Then Eunji is gone, leaving Chorong frustrated and confused.

Shaking her head, Chorong heads upstairs to her room to change. Her and Eunji have been messing around for years now, practically as soon as they entered high school. They usually are nothing more than friends during the school year, but every summer, without fail, Chorong ends up in Eunji’s bed. However, this year is so very different, and it’s for the exact reason Eunji with. Yoon Bomi, her crush, is going to be with her this summer, and that definitely means no fooling around with Eunji.

Chorong sighs as she changes into her bathing suit because she just knows Eunji will make it ridiculously difficult not to just say to hell with Yoon Bomi and follow her to her room. She’ll have to be more than her hormones, Chorong thinks to herself. She’s capable of that much; she isn’t some middle school boy.

However, when Chorong walks out to the lake just in time to see Eunji coming out of the water, she thinks this will be much harder than she thought. As if sensing her gaze and thoughts, Eunji turns to her with a devilish smirk and waves her over.

While Eunji continues to splash around in the water, Namjoo is on a blanket near the lake’s edge, music playing from her phone. She’s laid out on her stomach with a magazine in her hands and she smiles brightly when Chorong sits down next to her.

“Hey,” Namjoo greets her easily. This is what Chorong loves about Namjoo. She’s just so easy to get along with, unlike Eunji who makes everything a game. “Want to read?” Namjoo holds up another trashy magazine with a grin, knowing Chorong won’t be able to resist.

“Of course,” Chorong says, accepting the magazine. “I’m surprised you have to ask. I see you got the newest ones.”

“I got them right before we got here. We have to stay up to date, you know?”

The two of them break into giggles at this because they honestly can’t care less about which celebrity is dating who, but it’s nice to pretend they have such interests.

Chorong flips through the magazine for a few minutes while subtly watching Namjoo out of the corner of her eye. Except, it must not be as subtle as she thinks because Namjoo tosses her magazine aside and rolls onto her back about ten minutes later to stare at Chorong questioningly.

“What?” Chorong asks defensively.

Namjoo laughs and says, “You were the one staring at me. Is there a burning question you need to ask me?”

“I was just...” Chorong struggles to find an excuse then sighs in defeat. “I was just wondering how you were doing.”

“Right, because it’s not like we’ve seen each every day at school right before summer,” Namjoo jokes.

“I just meant, after last summer,” Chorong mumbles.

The smile slides right off Namjoo’s, replaced by a stony look. “I’m fine,” Namjoo says firmly.

Chorong sighs and says, “It’s okay if you aren’t.”

“I said I’m fine, didn’t I?” Namjoo snaps irritably. “I’m just as fine as Eunji is.”

This gets Namjoo a look, and Chorong points out with a slight smile, “No one is ever as fine as Eunji is.”

“Okay fine. I’m not as fine with it as Eunji,” Namjoo concedes, “but I’m fine, really.”

“Maybe I’d find it more believable if you didn’t use fine three times.”
 

Namjoo rolls her eyes but she’s smiling again when she playfully uses her magazine to swat at Chorong. After messing around for a little bit, Namjoo settles back down with her magazine and asks conversationally, “So, when is Bomi coming?”

“Why are you asking?” Chorong counters suspiciously.

This time Namjoo rolls her eyes so hard that Chorong thinks they might get stuck. “I’m not Eunji,” Namjoo tells her pointedly. They both look out to the water where Eunji is heaving herself onto the dock, only to fling herself back into the water. “I don’t care what you do or who you do it with. I’m just asking as a friend who wants to know what’s going on in your life.”

“Oh,” is all Chorong can say, suddenly feeling very soft and vulnerable because of Namjoo’s honest words. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Namjoo assures her with a smile. “I was just surprised that you’re suddenly inviting this girl that you’ve only really mentioned as a friend.”

“You aren’t worried about her coming here?”

Namjoo tilts her head to the side then says, “I am, but the damage is done. There’s no point in giving you a tough time now, is there?” When Chorong offers no answer, Namjoo beams at her and says, “So, tell me more about Bomi before Eunji gets tired of swimming and bothers us.”

The rest of the afternoon is spent like this: Chorong and Namjoo relax by the lake, eventually joined by a panting but grinning Eunji who drips water all over them and their magazines. They immediately complain and try to shoo her away to dry off, but Eunji merely settles herself in the middle of the blanket, wiggling around to get comfortable like an overexcited puppy. Eventually, the three girls settle down, and Chorong and Namjoo go back to talking while Eunji naps between them.

By early evening, each of the girls retire to their respective homes to shower and have dinners with their families.

Chorong dresses formally, pinning her hair back and sitting with her back straight. Her younger sister looks sullen beside her, and Chorong reminds herself to talk to her later. The two of them have always been close, but in recent years and especially after last summer, Chorong has drifted from Sunghee. Dinner is quiet, as it always is, and Chorong doesn’t bother to question it when her father summons her to his office. It’s business. It’s always business.

For Eunji, she plays the pain in the just as well with her family as she does with Chorong. She wears sweatpants and a t-shirt to dinner, hair haphazardly tossed up into a ponytail. Her father glares down at her throughout the entire dinner while her mother says nothing and pretends to eat her food. Despite her clothes, Eunji still follows her father into his office, barely flinching when he slams the door shut.

Lastly, Namjoo has dinner alone. Her parents barely spare her a glance as they leave for a business dinner. Her father does remember to remind her of her responsibilities before he walks out the door, punctuating the words with an uncommonly affectionate kiss on her forehead. Namjoo ignores the discomfort that coils inside her like a snake that’s tightening its grip on her every so slightly.

Namjoo is the first to the bonfire pit as the evening darkens into night. She’s wearing her glasses and a hoodie, perched on one of the chairs as she stares out to the lake. She’s used to being alone, but the loneliness itches at her skin until she can’t stop twitching. This, coupled with her memories on this lake, makes her feel like she’s come down with an incurable illness. Namjoo shakes her head, muttering under her breath to herself as she stands back up. When a hand suddenly clamps down on her shoulder, Namjoo jumps and turns, already halfway prepared to run. However, she immediately relaxes when Eunji smiles knowingly at her.

“Aren’t you cold?” Eunji asks lightly. She doesn’t wait for an answer as she goes about setting up the bonfire. Namjoo watches her blankly for a moment before helping. Eunji smiles at her again, this time warm and reassuring. “I brought some marshmallows for roasting, but we’ll see if Chorong is in the mood to let us rot our teeth,” Eunji jokes, like she knows Namjoo isn’t in the best mind frame and is doing her best to cheer her up. Namjoo loves her for it.

“I’m sure we can wait until she goes to sleep to eat them,” Namjoo says. “She sleeps early like the grandma she is.”

Eunji laughs at this. She wraps an arm around Namjoo’s shoulders, saying, “My partner in crime.” The label leaves a bad taste in Namjoo’s mouth, and Eunji immediately says, “Sorry, poor choice of words.” She kisses Namjoo’s temple, somehow so much more comforting than her own father, as she murmurs, “My best friend, the best girl a person could ask for.”

Namjoo often wonders if Eunji is ever like this with Chorong, warm and comforting and reliable. The two of them are always bickering in front of her, and Eunji is so obnoxious with Chorong. However, when Chorong isn’t around, Eunji is every bit the sister Namjoo has always wanted. Chorong is like her sister too, but she’s always been more of the tough love type who will gossip with you and help you get ready for a date. Eunji has always been more motherly, someone who Namjoo can just hug after a long day. She likes these moments she has with Eunji, treasures them dearly, and this is why she hugs her tightly as the fire comes to life.

Without Chorong and Eunji, Namjoo isn’t sure where she’d be. Actually, she does know where she’d be. She’d be alone, and Namjoo is never going to let that happen.

Namjoo and Eunji hug each other, until the familiar sound of Chorong’s front door opening and closing makes them pull away. When she appears, Chorong is still wearing her formal dress, but she looks like she wants to chuck it into the bonfire as she sits down on one of the logs. Namjoo and Eunji share a look before Namjoo goes to sit down beside her.

Meanwhile, Chorong is fuming from her conversation with father. No one really gets her heated like her father, on the verge of screaming at the world and destroying everything in her path. She knows there’s no point in taking it out on her friends though, least of all Namjoo and Eunji. Namjoo will cry if she does that, which will make Chorong feel even worse than she already does, and the one time Chorong had exploded at Eunji, Eunji had calmly thrown Chorong over her shoulder before promptly dumping her in the lake.

Lost in her anger, Chorong barely notices Namjoo’s soothing hand on her back and Eunji disappearing.

Then Eunji reappears with blankets for all of them, taking the time to make sure the blankets are snugly tucked around the other girls’ shoulders while Namjoo tenderly smooths out Chorong’s hair, and Chorong remembers why they’ve been friends all these years.

They all squeeze onto a single log when there are plenty of open chairs, practically on top of each other as they stare at the bonfire. Chorong is the one squished in the middle, not feeling the least bit uncomfortable despite the tight fit. Namjoo has her head on her shoulder, and Eunji is holding her hand, and Chorong feels safe. At Lake Orion of all places. She knows it has everything to do with the people she’s with rather than the place itself, but something feels eerily false about the quiet night.

“When do Bomi and her friends arrive?” Eunji asks quietly. She no longer sounds bitter, merely tired.

Chorong can’t help but brush a brief kiss against the crown of Eunji’s head as she answers, “The day after tomorrow.”

“Just enough time to bury all of our dirty secrets,” Namjoo says, not without humor.

Chorong hums and lets herself relax, just for this one moment.